As the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu start yielding dividends, the Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI) has acknowledged Nigerians as the ultimate hero of this economic transition.
The Abuja-based Think Tank commended the extraordinary resilience, adaptability, and patriotism of the vast majority of Nigerians during this demanding transitional period.
In a policy statement released on July 31, 2026, entitled, “Nigerians as Actual Executors of Tinubu’s Reforms as Economy Transit from Consumption to Productivity’’, the Chairman of IMPI, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, said that,“ while the administration sets the policy framework, Nigerians are the actual executors of the reform’’.
“We expect the public’s resilience to be met with genuine government accountability and visible developmental returns, which ultimately translate to the fact that the painful sacrifices made between 2023 and 2026 will serve as the foundational building block for Nigeria’s long-term economic independence.
“We assure the nation that we are firmly on track. The country is beginning to show the unmistakable signs of a 22nd-century superpower, a long-term vision originally projected by one of our nation’s outstanding global entrepreneurs.
“By maintaining our policy direction and continuing to build on these structural reforms, we ensure that Nigeria will claim its rightful position as the industrial engine house of Africa and a leading force in the global economy,’’ he said.
Akinsiju noted that for decades, the domestic narrative surrounding Nigeria’s macroeconomic reality was trapped in a recurring cycle of resource-dependent volatility, structural stagnation, and superficial populist solutions.
He said that successive administrations routinely opted for short-term fixes subsidizing consumption, maintaining artificial currency pegs, and expanding multiple exchange rate windows rather than confronting the painful foundational distortions hindering national productivity.
He explained that the inauguration of the administration of President Tinubu marked a departure from this unsustainable status quo.
Through unmatched political will and structural foresight, he said the administration initiated a comprehensive reset designed to transition Nigeria from a consumption-slick, rent-seeking enclave into a highly competitive, market-driven, and production-based economy.
He explained that IMPI recognized that while the immediate phase of these reforms imposed acute burdens on the domestic populace, the macroeconomic framework is steadily yielding positive, non-reversible returns.
“Capital inflows, industrial repositioning, and external rating outlooks collectively demonstrate returning global institutional confidence,’’ he explained.
The timeline for the economic reforms followed a classic “J-curve “ trajectory where things got significantly worse before they got better.
Looking at the data and projections from 2023 up to the current mid-2026 landscape, Akinsiju divided they timeline into clear macro-stabilization and welfare recovery phases – Shock Phase (2023–2024), Stabilization and Disinflation (2025–Mid 2026) and the Structural Growth & Jobs (2026–2030).
He explained that immediate aftermath of removing petroleum subsidy and floating the Naira sent headline inflation soaring above 33% in 2024 and poverty figures worsened, with the World Bank estimating that an additional 7 million Nigerians fell below the poverty line during this intense period of adjustment.
Akinsiju explained that aggressive interest rate hikes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a newly rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) began taking effect resulted in headline inflation sharply moderated from over 33% down to 15.91% as of June 2026. Simultaneously, economic growth stabilized, with the IMF and World Bank projecting a GDP expansion of 4.1% to 4.4% for 2026.
The macro-reforms have largely succeeded in fixing Nigeria’s balance sheet, bringing gross foreign reserves to roughly $52 billion as at June 2026.
However, he said that as the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update (NDU) pointed out, the country was currently transitioning from fixing its finances to addressing deep structural issues like electricity, agriculture, and infrastructure.
“We stand at the precipice of an era where structural adjustments are crystallizing into tangible microeconomic relief. The ground has been laid for an industrial renaissance that will redefine Nigeria’s role on the global stage,’’ he concluded.
